Uncrowned Community Builders

The Ervin Family came to Oklahoma from Mississippi before 1906.

Ernestine's great-great grandmother Jane Jones was a midwife and a slave. Her father C.E. (Corrie) Ervin had a farm before he started working for the Sante Fe Railroad. When Mr. Ervin retired from the railroad, he became an Oklahoma State Legislator during the tenure of Governor David Hall.
Ernestine Ervin was born eighty years ago. Her mother was Lela Ervin. Ernestine was born and raised in Brooksville, Oklahoma. She attended school through the 12th grade, but did not graduate. Her parents encouraged her to finish school, but she decided to marry and raise a family.

She married Carl Richard Young on August 2, 1937 and the couple had ten children. Her husband, a carpenter, died in 1975 of a brain tumor. Thirty-five years after her marriage, Ernestine received her GED diploma and attended St. Gregory's University from 1971-1972. She started to work at Action, Inc. in the early 1970s and received her Associate's Arts Degree from Seminole Junior College during this time. She attended three semesters at Oklahoma Baptist University, where she completed twenty-four credit hours.

Her work experience included work as a teacher's aide with the Head Start Program; she worked first at Barnard School in Tecumseh, then at other area schools; field representative with Action, Inc. and clerical aide for Green Thumb Program. She retired in June 1999.

Ernestine served in many community volunteer capacities throughout Pottawatomie County, including: Mayor's Council on Aging, Nutrition Program, Title VII Program, Emergency Food Center Committee, RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program), Nursing Home Committee, Board of Directors for the Housing Development Corporation of America, Foster Care Advisory Review Committee and numerous others.

She served as the town clerk for Brooksville and served in this office for 27 years. She also served as the town treasurer until 1991. Ernestine was the first African American to open an office in Tecumseh City Hall. She was the first Black person to eat at white cafes in Lexington and Maud.

In addition, she has been a dedicated and faithful member of St. John Baptist Church for many years and served in many offices, and served as announcing clerk. For several years she wrote a hometown news column for the Tri-County Newspaper. She has shown how she loves the Lord throughout the years in serving and helping so many people and continues to do so.